ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation rose to 11.97 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Oct 8, driven largely by higher food prices, particularly wheat flour, according to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks short-term inflation, rose 0.57pc week-on-week, reflecting price fluctuations in both food and non-food items.

Of the 51 essential items monitored during the week, prices of 20 commodities (39.22pc) increased, while those of six items (11.76pc) declined. Prices of 25 items (49.02pc) remained unchanged from the previous week.

Short-term inflation has remained in double digits for several consecutive weeks, largely on the back of persistent increases in petroleum prices.

Unwilling to ease the petroleum levy, the government has continued to raise petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis. The surge in energy costs is not only fuelling inflationary pressures but also indirectly boosting sales tax collections through higher prices of goods and services.

According to tax analysts, higher inflation benefits the government in terms of increased sales tax collection.

Meanwhile, an unprecedented increase in transportation costs has also been reflected in the prices of essential food items, including onions, tomatoes and other vegetables.

Chairing the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting on Thursday, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal expressed concern over rising prices of essential commodities, particularly wheat flour, and directed provincial and district administrations to strengthen monitoring of supplies, market arrivals, hoarding, profiteering and unjustified price increases.

This is cost-push inflation, in which rising energy costs are followed by increases in food prices. As a result, households are under pressure from higher consumer prices.

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included wheat flour (5.69pc), chicken (4.93pc), pulse gram (3.99pc), petrol and tomatoes (2.40pc each), pulse masoor (1.29pc), prepared tea (1.08pc), cooked daal (0.98pc), pulse mash (0.91pc) and LPG (0.57pc).

The items whose prices declined week-on-week included bananas (2.81pc), diesel (1.37pc), potatoes (0.89pc), sugar (0.37pc), gur (0.19pc) and pulse moong (0.03pc).

On an annual basis, the items that recorded the highest price increases included onions (100.24pc), LPG (68.55pc), electricity for Q1 (58.59pc), petrol (47.52pc), diesel (42.52pc), wheat flour (32.60pc), chilli powder (15.55pc), mutton (15.02pc), beef (12.60pc), chicken (9.44pc), plain bread (8.99pc) and curd (8.08pc).

In contrast, potato prices fell by 39.51pc, followed by tomatoes (37.07pc), sugar (22.44pc), eggs (18.88pc), powdered salt (14.81pc), pulse masoor (9.79pc), gur (8.59pc) and pulse moong (8.37pc).

The index, which comprises 51 items whose prices are collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is calculated weekly to track changes in the prices of essential commodities and services. The data shows that the prices of 20 items increased, six decreased and 25 remained unchanged from the previous week.